Nosebleed
by PostActionPatchup
Summary: Desmond is having a rough day. \\\ Oneshot \\\ Slight DesLucy if you tilt your head and squint


Author's note: Well, I tried. I wanted some DesLucy cuteness with a little gentle whump, and I guess that's what this is. It's a little cheesier than I was going for. Please tell me how I did, I would really appreciate it. \\\ Cover image courtesy of madeinmasyaf \\\ Assassin's Creed and its characters are property of Ubisoft

* * *

**NOSEBLEED**

* * *

The world fragmented into shards and faded away, leaving Desmond in the familiar loft. He felt the sharp sting as Rebecca removed the IV needle that connected him to the animus and smoothed a bandage over the puncture wound. He swung his legs over the side of the chair and stood.

Suddenly, his vision was fading around the edges and his heart was pounding in his ears. He spread his arms slightly in a feeble attempt to counteract the dizziness he was experiencing. He could feel something warm dripping down his face. He swayed a bit, and soon, the world had become completely dark.

* * *

"Desmond." Someone called his name.

"Desmond, are you alright?" His eyes fluttered open to reveal Lucy's head hanging over him. She was standing behind him, supporting his back; she must have gotten up to catch him when he fell. Rebecca was running diagnostics on the animus. Shaun just stood at his desk, looking shocked. Desmond couldn't help the dumb smile that slipped over his face as he saw Shaun's genuinely concerned expression. Lucy sighed.

"Rebecca, let's get him off the floor and sit him on the animus." The two of them supported his weight and began to heft him back up to the place from which he fell.

"Shaun, can you get the first aid kit?"

"Yeah, um, of course," Shaun stammered, darting to Lucy's desk and grabbing the bulky red backpack that sat under it.

Once Desmond was situated back in the reclined chair of the animus, Lucy grabbed a white cotton cloth and put it to his face. He jerked away instinctively, magnifying the pounding in his head.

"Hold still." He allowed her to gently press the cloth over his nose. "You gave yourself a nosebleed." She took his hand in hers and brought it up to the cloth compress, placing his hand over his nose and holding the gauze in place.

"Keep that there," she instructed as she rummaged through the medical kit, pulling out a blood pressure cuff. She wrapped it around his bicep and began to inflate it.

"No problems with Baby," Rebecca confirmed. Lucy frowned.

"Hmm. Thanks, Becca." She turned to Desmond.

"How do you feel? Any pain?" Her eyes were worried.

"Just a headache." It was a pretty bad headache, but he didn't want her to worry about him. He definitely didn't want her to stop him from getting back into the animus as soon as he could. He wouldn't let a headache and a bloody nose stop him from finding the apple.

"Really?" She looked suspicious. He put on his most sincere face, looking as serious as he could with a piece of bloodstained gauze pressed to his nose.

"Really." Lucy smiled slightly. Even if he wasn't feeling as well as he said, he was feeling well enough to lie to her. She let out another sigh as she finished reading Desmond's blood pressure.

"Your blood pressure is pretty low. When was the last time you ate or drank something?"

"At Leonardo's house." Lucy rolled her eyes, unimpressed by his joke.

"When was the last time you ate or drank something outside of the animus?"

"I'm not sure."

"You're probably dehydrated." She stood and walked across the room to a storage crate, peering inside. Desmond pressed his eyes shut, willing his headache to go away. Headaches and dizziness were pretty common after being in the animus, but it wasn't usually this bad.

"Alright." Lucy was back at his side, placing a bag of IV fluids on the table next to the animus.

"Come on, Lucy, this isn't necessary." Desmond tried to push her hand away, but she grabbed his wrist. Her thin fingers brushed gently against the skin of his right arm as she examined the damage the animus needle had caused over the course of several days. Bruises of various ages were shades of purple and blue against his tanned forearm. She smiled sympathetically and moved to his left arm, left untouched by the animus. Desmond bit his lip as the IV needle found its target in his vein.

"Relax," Lucy coaxed, quickly attaching various tubes to get the IV drip up and running.

"How's your nose?" Desmond removed the gauze experimentally. When it didn't bleed, Lucy let out a breath in relief.

"Come on, you should lie down. Can you walk by yourself?" Desmond nodded. Even so, Lucy put a hand on his shoulder as he stood and slowly walked towards the bed.

As he lay down, she sunk onto the bed by his side, her head propped on her hand.

"Lucy?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For being there for me."


End file.
